Kathryn Bigelow is assembling her team for what could be one of the most anticipated and potentially controversial films of the near future. Australian actor Joel Edgerton has reportedly been drafted in for the project tentatively titled Kill Bin Laden, making him the first cast member to join the production, according to the LA Times.

According to the LA Times, Edgerton will play a special operative in a team of commandos. The newspaper cites two sources close to the project who asked not to be identified because they were not authorised to discuss the matter. The Sydney-born actor has been circling a number of high-profile Hollywood roles recently after his bravura turn in acclaimed gangland thriller Animal Kingdom. They include the role of the huntsman in a new version of Snow White, and the lead in the new Bourne movie, The Bourne Legacy. Hurt Locker alumnus Jeremy Renner got the latter part, while Thor's Chris Hemsworth could be in line to join Twilight's Kristen Stewart in the former.

Some industry sources had suggested Bigelow might not move forward with Kill Bin Laden if rival projects emerged, but the LA Times implies the project is firmly on the fast track following Bin Laden's death.